Master storytellers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz ("Lost," "Tron: Legacy") invite everyone to Storybrooke, Maine, a small town that probably won't show up on one's GPS, but it's a place where magic is coming!

To ensure that no one in fairytale land – especially Snow White – had any more "happily ever afters," Evil Queen Regina cast a curse which trapped the fairytale characters, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Although still alive, they had no knowledge of their former selves and were sleepwalking through life – ageless -- for 28 years, until a savior arrived in the form of Emma Swan. Unbeknownst to Emma, she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, who had whisked her out of fairytale land and into our world as an infant to save her from the curse. Abandoned as a baby, Emma's life was anything but magical; her last job was as a bail bondsperson, but she mostly drifted without much of a life plan. When her 10-year-old son, Henry -- whom she had given up for adoption years earlier -- appeared on her doorstep with a book of fairytales and a wild story about how Emma was the progeny of fairytale characters trapped in a town called Storybrooke, she thought he was crazy. But curiosity got the better of her, and when she brought Henry back to the town – where Regina, ever the control freak, had made herself mayor and was also Henry's adoptive mother -- Emma soon discovered that Storybrooke was more than it seemed. Over time she came to believe the stories were true, began to see cracks in the curse, and was finally able to break it.

Reality and myth were merged as the fairytale characters began awakening, once the curse was lifted, and remembered who they were. But to their dismay they were not transported back to fairytale land. And to make matters worse, Rumplestiltskin – aka Mr. Gold – in an effort to gain the upper hand in his power struggle with Regina, introduced magic into the town. In fairytales magic has its place, but in our world it can have unfathomable consequences. Now the fairytale characters must contend with magic in their quest to find a way home, as new fairytale characters are revealed, old acquaintances are revisited, and some we had come to believe could be trusted will turn against their own kind.

"Second Star to the Right" - Emma, Mary Margaret and David go in search of Regina when they discover that she - along with some magic beans - have gone missing. But against Neal's protests, Emma still believes that Tamara had something to do with Regina's disappearance; and Mr. Gold contemplates telling Lacey the truth about his ability to conjure magic. Meanwhile, after Rumplestiltskin abandons his son and lets him travel alone through a portal, young Bae finds himself back in 19th century London and is taken in by the Darling family -- befriending their daughter Wendy -- on "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, MAY 5 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Question: I have a burning Once Upon a Time question — was the outside world affected when the curse was broken? —Jen
Ausiello: That’s what EP Adam Horowitz referred to as “an excellent question” when it was lobbed to him at Comic-Con over the weekend.
“I think the best way to answer that,” he responded, “is to say that that will be explicated rather quickly.” Explicate: To analyze and develop (an idea or principle) in detail. (Source)

Question: Any scoop on August from Once Upon a Time? Please don’t say they’re not bringing him back. —Rae
Ausiello: “We are definitely going to tell what happened to Pinocchio,” EP Edward Kitsis assured us at Con. “The last we saw, he was wood.”
Added Horowitz: “We gotta figure out what happened to him. We started the story and we intend to finish it.” (source)

Alexa: What's next for Snow and Charming on OUAT?! Please tell me they won't be getting new love interests!
Relax! It seems like the show's creators are more interested in exploring the relationship between the couple and their daughter than any prospective love interests. "There's a lot of challenges, in terms of this new relationship with their daughter. Rather than focusing on last season, where it was they didn't know who each other were and whether they'll get together and will we overcome the Kathryn of it all, this year it's a whole different set of challenges that this new familial relationship presents," Adam Horowitz explains. (Source)

Will anything surprise us about the upcoming episodes of Once Upon a Time? — Megan
NATALIE: We know that the flashbacks lead to Regina enacting the curse, but coming trips to the past may surprise you. "We're going to show you some things in our world that you didn't even think were an option," executive producer Edward Kitsis says. Will we see flashbacks to other lands — say, Oz? Kitsis remains coy. "[They'll] center on our characters, but in surprising ways." (Source)

Now that Once Upon a Time‘s Hook is out in the open, will we get to see him interact with the other residents of Storybrooke? –Stefanie
You mean, presuming he survived getting mowed down by The Outsider, right? (Of course he lives.) Well, to perhaps – perhaps! – answer your question, I’ll offer up this scooplet. “Emma’s love life is going to get really complicated,” series cocreator Adam Horowitz told me last week. In fact, across Storybrooke at large, he said, “The permutations of romance will continue to turn as we move forward.” (Source)

What time will the Once Upon a Time Lightning Round article be posted? —Hannah JoAnn, via Twitter
NATALIE: Soon, Hannah. Better yet, because I'm feeling generous today, I will give you a sneak preview! Will poor Belle ever get her memories back? The answer is... yes! "If it was permanent, that would be the most bleak end," executive producer Edward Kitsis says, noting that how Gold helps her gets her memory back will certainly be a story line to watch out for. Let's take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief. Good? OK. (Source)

Any plans for Mulan to return to Once? — Alyson
“We’re not going to rule anything out and there are some surprises we want to keep in store for characters who may be coming back later in the season,” says executive producer Adam Horowitz. “So we’re not going to rule anything out nor will we confirm or deny.” Source

Now that Once Upon a Time‘s Emma has disappointed Henry by lying to him about his father, will Regina have a chance to really reconnect with her son? –Vicki
That is totally where I thought this was going, too, but it appears we’re both wrong. As Jennifer Morrison explained to me, “Unfortunately for Regina at this point, she is so wrapped up in her own sort of mess with her mother being in town and the complications of that relationship, and sort of her failing at trying to not use magic, she sort of misses seeing her opportunity [with Henry]. She does make a move to get him back, but she doesn’t necessarily make the most strategic move, based on the circumstances.” (Source)

Once Upon a Time | Since many – myself included – have speculated that Cora cast some sort of spell on her daughter, and that’s why Regina seems to have abandoned her redemption tour, I asked the series’ creators if we are onto something. Short answer: Nope. As Eddy Kitsis reminds, “In Episode 9, we saw Regina say, ‘I have to kill you, Mother. Your grip on my heart is too strong.’ So while the audience is right to be wary of Cora, and Regina is right to be wary of her mother’s true intentions, we can never forget how important the need to get your mom’s approval and love is.” Adam Horowitz meanwhile offered this teaser for fans of Lana Parrilla’s ever-unpredictable alter ego: “We’re going to see some Regina unleashed!” Source

OMG, is Once Upon a Time going to Neverland?! —Jayma
NATALIE: Based on the final two episode titles, it certainly sounds like it. But I have some bad news about the finale. If last year's was about breaking the curse, this year's is a little more ominous than that. "At the end of last year, Mr. Gold said magic was coming. Now that magic is here, it always comes with a price. In the finale, we'll see that price," executive producer Edward Kitsis tells me. Does that mean someone is going to die? Executive producer Adam Horowitz adds, "We should always be worried about death, but I would say that there are things to be worried about that you are probably not worried about yet, but you will be!" Source

Will Neal’s fiancée play a role in future Once Upon a Time episodes? –Devin
Yes — though probably not in quite the way you expect. And that’s all I’ll say, for now, on the matter… so here’s series cocreator Eddy Kitsis, pre-PaleyFest: “Tamara’s not going anywhere anytime soon…. We’re very excited for the audience to see what she’s all about.” (Ooh, Devin, you came so close to asking the question I have a tantalizing response for. Maybe next week….) Source.

I know we’re going to see Regina and Snow feuding more than ever now that Snow killed Cora, but are we going to get to see Regina mourn a little? -- Trish
For sure. In fact, Lana Parrilla tells me that even though we’ll see Regina having a bit of a “one track mind” when it comes to revenge, “you’re definitely going to see [her pain.] There’s a moment of grieving and mourning her mother’s passing,” she says. Source

If Once Upon a Time‘s Tamara basically has been lying to Neal about everything, then she also possibly lied about Hook. Any scoop on him? –@onceuponamirror
Your hypothesis would seem to be sound, about lying liars and the lies they tell and all. As for scoop on Hook himself, I can promise you’ll never guess where he next turns up. BONUS SCOOPLET: This just in from Deadline: Brit Michael Socha (aka Tom from the UK’s Being Human) has been cast as The Knave in the Wonderland-centric Once spin-off. Source

I about died when I saw the beautiful Tom Ellis (The Fades, Merlin) in the Once Upon a Time promo. Do you have any scoop on his Robin Hood character? –Sandi
While Adam Horowitz says that Ellis is “amazing” in the role and Eddy Kitsis teases that he figures into “a very fun scene with Rumple,” the series’ creators stress that the Rumple/Belle-centric episode (airing April 21) will not delve into the Prince of Theives’ backstory. “It’s done in the spirit of what we did a lot in Season 1 — bringing in a character and mashing him up with our story without having to do ‘the Robin Hood story,’” says Kitsis. “But now there is a character in our universe who, should the time arise, we would love to delve into further.”Source

We were given a hint about a connection between Once Upon a Time’s Neal and Hook in Neverland. Do you have any scoop about what their history might be? – Stef
I kinda sorta do, and I share it in the next episode of Spoiler Alert! But until that goes live, I can share that the dots will be connected in this season’s penultimate episode, “Second Star to the Right.” Source

Dina: I am going through Once Upon a Time withdrawals. Got any scoop on what to expect?
A trip to a new land…possibly a permanent one! "They sort of set up that we are maybe heading to another land. They've teased that at the end of season two," Jennifer Morrison teases of season three. "I will be interested to see how we are all impacted by that new land. I think whenever we're in a place where everyone's relationships are impacted by their environment and it heightens the stakes for everyone, it becomes very interesting drama." Source

Question: Got any scoop on Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Nashville, Hannibal or Orphan Black? —Danae
Ausiello: On the Once Upon a Time front, expect to see Mulan, Aurora and Prince Phillip once again, before the season is over. And lest you think Regina’s “trigger” to implode Storybrooke is just a MacGuffin for us to gaze upon and imagine its potential, ”We’re definitely going to see what that black diamond does,” EP Eddy Kitsis warns. Source

OTHER SPOILERS

Any chance Maleficent will return next season on Once Upon a Time? — Rosie
NATALIE: Seeing as Sleeping Beauty was just added to the second season, it's likely we haven't seen the last of Maleficent.
Kristin Bauer may have Rumplestiltskin to thank for that. "I was hoping when that mist strolled into town that that meant that anything is possible," the True Blood vixen tells us. (Source)